Albanna appointed to CSA No. 81 advisory board

Michelle Albanna is the newest member of the County Service Area No. 81 advisory board.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 June 21 to appoint Albanna to the vacancy on the advisory board which covers parks in Fallbrook, DeLuz, and Rainbow.

"Happy to join the group and make decisions for our parks in the area," Albanna said.

"Michelle Albanna was unanimously recommended for appointment by the Department of Parks and Recreation as well as the CSA 81 advisory board," said Supervisor Bill Horn. "She is a welcome addition to the local park advisory committee."

The CSA No. 81 advisory board makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on park improvement and funding priorities.

"I'm thrilled to be on the board with the other members making decisions about parks in the area," Albanna said.

Albanna is the secretary and chief financial officer of Fallbrook Skatepark, Inc., and replaces another member of that organization on the CSA No. 81 advisory board.

The county supervisors appointed Fallbrook Skatepark, Inc., president Roger Harrell to the board in June 2015, but Harrell recently moved out of the area due to his job. Albanna sought the vacant seat. "We've been going to the meetings, the CSA 81 meetings, for several years," she said. "I am now working from home, so I thought it was perfect."

Albanna believes that her presence on the CSA No. 81 advisory board will help keep options open for a future skate park, but she also recognizes the need for other parks. "We need more parks in general in Fallbrook," she said.

Six years ago Albanna's son, who was 16 at the time, was

arrested for trespassing when he was riding his skateboard on Fallbrook Union Elementary School District property. "I just thought there should be places for kids to skate," Albanna said.

Albanna's son, who is now 22 and an electrical engineering major at UCLA, was a student at Fallbrook High School when he was arrested for skateboarding. He had previously attended La Paloma Elementary School and Potter Junior High School, which are part of the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District. Albanna also has an 18-year-old daughter who attends MiraCosta College.

The Albanna family attends St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, and a St. Peter's youth initiative identified a skateboard park for local youth as one of the community's social focus needs. Project Safe Skate was formed as a result of that youth initiative.

Fallbrook Skatepark, Inc., was founded in 2003 by the late Jack Buettner but had been dormant before Project Safe Skate merged with Fallbrook Skatepark, Inc., in June 2010. The Project Safe Skate officers became the Fallbrook Skatepark, Inc., officers.

Harrell became the organization's president and Albanna took over as the secretary. Albanna has a background in marketing – she spent 9 1/2 years as the marketing manager of Cliniqa Corporation and two years as the director of international sales and marketing for Branan Medical Corporation – and also became the organization's chief financial officer.

"We've had ups and downs trying to find a location," Albanna said. <A possible home for the skate park is now being pursued at Ingold Sports Field.>

Albanna was raised in Michigan. She and her husband purchased a UPS store in San Diego in 2003 and moved from Michigan to Oceanside. They rented a home in Oceanside while deciding where to purchase a residence, and in 2004 they became Fallbrook homeowners and residents.